Halfway There (First Semester of Senior Year Reflection)

My first semester of senior year wrapped up a week ago, making today the perfect time to reflect on that with y'all.  I reflected on my first semester of junior year last year and a few months ago I reflected on first quarter of senior year. These posts are a bit more personal than usual but also a great thing for me to look back on and see where I was at during that point in my life.

a snap from my trip to Bald Head Island last August

After finishing junior year, I was excited to put the stress of that behind me. Junior year was definitely hard on me (as I talked about in previous posts) from school stress to various things going on with friends. When you finish junior year, you think "Ok the hard part is behind me, now I'm a fun senior".

Little did I know that senior year is definitely stressful as well. The first few months of school were so crazy as I balanced working on and submitting college applications and regular school assignments as well as other responsibilities. The stress level is definitely the same, if not higher, as junior year but even though it's a lot, the school stress doesn't affect you as much. My work ethic hasn't slipped if that makes sense but having a test in History and a book due in English doesn't freak you out as much haha.

What has a major stressor for me is college. It is a topic that is fairly unavoidable at this point since every time I mention I'm a senior, the response is automatically, "What college are you going to?". And honestly, I don't know yet. I've gotten into four colleges so far (which you can read about here and here) and I've narrowed it down to 3 (I'm not going to share that until my decision is final) but it is still stressful. I've lived in the same place for 13 years and have gone to school with the same people for 10 so it's a little overwhelming to think that this fall things will be so different. I'm so excited for college and the adventures it will bring but I am definitely a little nervous as well.

The whole college process is pretty stressful. All of my applications are turned in so now it's just working on scholarship applications and waiting. It's all out of my hands at this point but it is still a bit scary since you take whatever admissions decision you receive so personally. If you're deferred or rejected, it's a personal blow and it's scary not to have certainty of whether you will be admitted when you apply.

I could honestly talk about my college admissions experience for a while, so I'll definitely write a whole other blog post on that soon. There has been a lot going on other than college so I should definitely touch on that as well.

Senioritis has definitely set in and there's definitely days where I feel it more than others. Some days I can't wait to get to college and meet new people and do new things while other days I know I will miss high school and the friendships and community I have now. This semester has brought a bit of change in terms of some of my friendships but something I realized over the past few days is the importance of not burning bridges. It's crazy to think that this is my last semester of high school and the last few months of what I've come to know as "normal" and "usual" over the past few years.

Are you a senior this year as well? Let me know in the comments!